1980s-1990s
Despite cultural emphasis on diversity, tolerance and antiracism in the U.S., Mexican Americans continued to experience direct racism and some level of media stereotypes branded them as foreign (unassimilated), urban criminals, overmasculine, oversexed and even undesirable. Also, the politically charged issue of giving amnesty to undocumented immigrants was opposed by mainly conservative political circles.
In 1994, California state voters approved Proposition 187 by a wide majority, the initiative allowed state provided services from public education to private medical hospitals to examine any patient or client's citizenship status. Many Mexican-Americans opposed such measures as reminisicent of pre-civil rights era ethnic discrimination and even denounced these actions as illegal under state and federal laws, as well international law when it involves the rights of foreign nationals in other countries. The proposition was brought to attention to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, in which the Proposition was declared void for reasons that the state voter-approved law was unconstitutional.
The Chandler Roundup was a law enforcement operation in Chandler, Arizona, in 1997 in which suspected illegal immigrants were arrested based solely on their skin color. Many U.S. citizens and legal residents were also stopped and arrested.
Read more about this topic: Anti-Mexican Sentiment